Reviews tagging 'Infertility'

The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

30 reviews

haleypages's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This book was incredibly atmospheric and felt like an amalgamation of One Day and Where the Crawdads Sing. It was a slow start, but then I sank into it fully. It is so clear that the author has deep knowledge and love for the cape, and it seeps out of the pages. However, the event halfway through the book, that really defines the protagonist's adult life, felt so rushed and happened in a page and a half. Although I understand it wasn't the event itself, but the ramifications that were the center of the book, it was jarring how little page time was spent on the event itself.

Overall, I really fell in love with Elle and her struggles (it was especially nice to see literally fiction in which the protagonist is a wonderful mother), and I enjoyed the complicated relationships in the novel, and that not every important conversation was had.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault

Minor: Cancer, Death, Infertility, and Terminal illness

sazzzberry's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Cancer, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Grief, Stalking, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Infertility and Miscarriage

abbiekwilliams's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Infidelity, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Sexual content, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Cancer, Incest, Infertility, and Terminal illness

lavienne's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Infertility, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Blood, Dementia, and Abandonment

kaitlynsc's review against another edition

Child sexual abuse

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

thewordapothecary's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Mostly I’m just confused. Why the hell did I just read an entire book to basically have no closure for the main plot. There’s unnecessary trauma included in the book that totally could’ve been left out. Elle is the unluckiest character, and I know that bad things happen to lots of people… but her life was one bad thing after the other. She’s a bad person. The one good thing that’s ever happened in her life and she acts like she could easily give it up. The only thing saving this book from a one star is the last handful of chapters and even that is a stretch. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

lsm's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This book is well written but I just wasn’t a fan. It’s tough subject which I can usually handle, but the author went out of her way to drop revolting, unnecessary details throughout the story. The MC said “That’s disgusting” at least a dozen times m, probably more, and she wasn’t wrong. Every possible bodily fluid was mentioned. Even that might be ignored but a cat licking blood off the floor? Why? Mouse urine? Ok, maybe I’ve read that detail somewhere but mouse afterbirth? Stfu. The gross details became a near constant distraction that I came to resent. I know they were all a choice and I’m sure they represented the decay of youth, innocence, and moral compass but in the end they were all too much. For that reason I can’t recommend this one. I doubt I’ll ever read this author again. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy

bellarosereads's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Incest, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Infertility, Miscarriage, and Suicide

Minor: Cancer and Terminal illness

amberelizabeth7's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

On one hand, I devoured this in mostly one sitting, finding the pace and writing style really engaging.
On the other hand, one timeline is utterly horrific, and the other is 24 hours with some decisions made by adults. The pace was great between the two timelines and it was well crafted and told, but I felt the more interesting long term timeline didn’t come to conclusion in the present day timeline and I felt like the good writing and character development had slightly tricked me into not realising the plot of the present day story that feels like the main one didn’t really go anywhere. 

It seems intended that finding out that Conrad didn’t just rape Elle excuses Elle and Jonas of their complicity in Conrad’s death, and relieves them of their guilt to be together. I don’t particularly buy that, and therefore it feels like I was told all of this history for it not really to be relevant to Elle and Jonas just finally having the courage to admit to themselves and one another how they really feel. That happening also doesn’t feel like a reasonable conclusion to the long timeline of Elle, especially with it left open.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Infertility

This book includes significant description and discussion of child abuse, sexual assault inc. rape, and child death. It at times references suicide, sometimes insensitively.

marlee_grace's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Slow paced. Confusing timeline. Too many characters to keep track of. Enjoyed the concept.

If it wasn't for the shameless book club, this would have been a DNF. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Drug use, Infertility, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, and Grief